One proposed method for reducing the cost of photovoltaic energy conversion is to deposit the photovoltaic solar cells in the form of a thin sheet onto a supporting substrate such as glass. Such sheets can be deposited more or less continuously onto a moving substrate or by other methods. Techniques are then required to define individual cells within this deposited sheet and to provide for their electrical interconnection.
It would be advantageous at least from a manufacturing viewpoint if the individual cells in the substrate cell were such that they could be fabricated in a wide range of substrate materials, deposition conditions, and cell designs. It would also be advantageous if the inherent features of cells permitted relatively large area individual cells and large scale integrated arrays of cells to be fabricated.